National Children's Commissioner Anne Hollonds has welcomed the establishment of a Federal Senate Inquiry into Australia's child justice system, saying it has come at a critical time to prevent further systemic failures harming children and young people.
The Inquiry was established on Wednesday night after the Senate supported a motion from the Australian Greens to investigate Australia's youth justice and detention systems. The Inquiry will focus on the over-imprisonment of First Nations children and compliance by federal, state and territory prisons and detention centres with their international human rights obligations to protect the human rights of children and young people.
"I commend the Senate for agreeing to this Inquiry as a critical step forward towards reform based on evidence and human rights. For decades, scores of people have been working to get national attention on these urgent issues, and this Inquiry is an opportunity to address one of the most urgent human rights issues facing Australia," Commissioner Hollonds said.
"As recommended in our landmark Help Way Earlier! Report into child justice, which was tabled in Parliament last month, a national inquiry will help shine a light on the failures in our child justice systems - failures which continue to destroy and devastate the lives of young people, their families, and communities. We are seeing these failures daily, particularly against First Nations and other children living with poverty and disadvantage, and complex needs such as disabilities, mental ill-health and trauma. The Inquiry will also gather evidence about the ways forward for solutions and systems reform.
"As our report 'Help Way Earlier!' found, in Australia we have misunderstood the problem we are trying to solve by making the criminal justice systems tougher and more punitive. The evidence is that the younger you lock up a child, the more likely it is that they will go on to offend. Current approaches are not working to make communities safer.
"These are the most vulnerable children in this country. I am optimistic that Australia can step up and do much better in protecting the safety and wellbeing of our children. This will benefit us all."
The Senate Inquiry will be conducted by the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee, to report by 26 November.
